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{{Short description|Sage in Hinduism}} | |||
{{Hinduism}} | {{Hinduism}} | ||
'''Avatsara''' | '''Avatsara''' ({{Langx|sa|अवत्सार|translit=Avatsāra}}) is a [[rishi]] (sage) featured in the [[Rig Veda|Rigveda]]. His name first appears in [[Sukta]] 44 of the Fifth Mandala.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Rig Veda: A Historical Analysis|author=Shrikant G.Talageri|publisher=Aditya Prakashan|url=http://www.trueindianhistory.org/ppt/History%20of%20Rigveda.pdf|access-date=2014-01-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116220825/http://www.trueindianhistory.org/ppt/History%20of%20Rigveda.pdf|archive-date=2014-01-16|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Class and Religion in Ancient India|author=Jayantanuja Bandopadhayaya|publisher=Anthem Press|page=13|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gwUF11NRyT4C&q=avatsara+rishi&pg=PA13|isbn=9781843313328|year=2007}}</ref> | ||
== | ==Work== | ||
Avatsara is the | Avatsara is the primary author of [[Sukta]] 44 of the Fifth Mandala of the Rigveda, whose hymn addressed to the class of [[Rigvedic deities]] called the [[Visvedevas]]. He is known for the set of eight hymns of four mantras each that appear in the Rigveda viz. Suktas IX.53 to IX.60, and also in the Samaveda (SV.757, SV.1717).<ref>{{cite book|title=All Four Vedas|publisher=Agniveer|pages=124–134, 326, 409–417, 734|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rU8CAgAAQBAJ&q=Avatsara&pg=RA5-PA454|date=2013-11-10}}</ref> He is stated to be the chief priest of the gods. He is described to offer Agni the six-syllable oblation – ''O Agni, enjoy the oblation'', and was set-free.<ref>{{cite book|title=Rig Veda Brahmanas:The Aitareya and Kausitaki Brahmanas of the Rig Veda|author=Arthur Barriedale Keith|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|page=419|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UDawvHc4AxgC&q=avatsara&pg=PA419|isbn=9788120813595|year=1998}}</ref> According to Satyasadha (21.3.13), the Kashyapa ''[[Pravaras|pravara]]'' (lineage) consists of three rishi–ancestors: – [[Kashyap|Kashyapa]], Avatsara, and Naidhruva.<ref>{{cite book|title=Sarautakosah:Encyclopaedia of Vedic Sacrificial Rituals|author=Dhundiraja Ganesa|page=1016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8nMoAAAAYAAJ&q=Avatsara|year=1962}}</ref> The lineage also belongs to two of the [[Sandilya]] variations.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ooc6AAAAIAAJ&q=avatsara&pg=PA36 |title=The Early Brahmanical System of Gotra and Pravara |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1953 |isbn=9781001403793 |page=36}}</ref> There are eight notable sages belonging to the Kashyapa family – ''Kashyapa'', ''Avatsara'', ''Nidhruva'', ''Rebha'', ''Devala'', ''Asita'', ''Bhutamsa,'' and ''Vivrha''; two unnamed sons of ''Rebha'' were also authors of Rigvedic hymns.<ref>{{cite book|title=India in the Vedic Age|author=Purushottam Lal Bhargava|publisher=D.K.Print World|page=221|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5h4wAQAAIAAJ&q=avatsara|isbn=9788124601716|date=January 2001}}</ref> | ||
== | He is more known for the Suktas 53 to 60 of the Ninth Mandala; these Suktas contain four [[mantra]]s each, all composed in the [[Gayatri]] [[Metre (poetry)|Metre]]. In the Rigveda, he addresses [[Ishvara]] as, "the fully armed and endowed with many subtle and fine divine powers and destroyer of all evil forces" (RV.IX.53.1). He then addresses Ishvara as, "the purifier or the pure, brilliant as the Sun".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Illumination of Knowledge|author=Ravinder Kumar Soni|publisher=GBD Books|pages=246–247|url=https://openlibrary.org/search?author_key=OL6886704A&has_fulltext=false&publisher_facet=GBD+Books}}</ref> | ||
His name appears in the [[Yajurveda]], (Y.V.III.i & III.xviii) in which he prays to [[Agni]],<ref>{{cite book|title=All Four Vedas|author=Agniveer|publisher=Agniveer|page=46|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rU8CAgAAQBAJ&q=avatsara+rishi&pg=RA4-PA46 |date=2013-11-10}}</ref> and in the [[Aitareya Brahmana]] and the [[Sankhyayana Brahmana|Kausitaki Brahmana]]. In the verses of the Aitareya Brahmana (A.B. ii.24) and Kausitaki Brahmana (K.B.viii.6), both pertaining to the Sacrifice of the Five Oblations, it is stated that Avatsara had reached the home of [[Agni]] and had conquered the highest world.<ref>{{cite book|title=Rig Veda Brahmanas:The Aitareya and Kausitaki Brahmanas of the Rig Veda|author=Arthur Barriedale Keith|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|page=153|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UDawvHc4AxgC&q=avatsara&pg=PA419|isbn=9788120813595|year=1998}}</ref> | |||
In Rigveda Sukta IX.53, he states that educated people extract the wisdom of the ancients from the [[Vedas]]. Further, he states in Rigveda mantra IX.60.3 that the Lord resides as knowledge and consciousness in the hearts and minds of educated people.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Illumination of Knowledge|author=Ravinder Kumar Soni|publisher=GBD Books|pages=247–248|url=https://openlibrary.org/search?author_key=OL6886704A&has_fulltext=false&publisher_facet=GBD+Books}}</ref> | |||
==Genealogy== | |||
Avatsara is described to be the son of Kashyapa, who whose lifetime was later than Vamadeva (son of [[Gautama Maharishi|Maharishi Gautama]]), but earlier than [[Atri]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Islamkotob |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yXu5PzQ4jg8C&q=avatsara&pg=PT102 |title=Rig Veda A Historical Analysis |publisher=Islamic Books |page=102}}</ref> The word, ''Avata'', denotes an artificially dug up water-source or an artificial well.<ref>{{cite book |author=Arthur Anthony Macdonell |title=Vedic Index of Names and Subjects Vol.1 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |pages=39–40}}</ref><ref name="google">{{cite book |author1=Macdonell, A.A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6TVLlPvuMAC |title=Vedic Index of Names and Subjects |author2=Keith, A.B. |date=1995 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=9788120813328 |page=40 |access-date=2015-02-09 |issue=v. 1; v. 5}}</ref> | |||
Apart from Kashyapa, the son of Marichi, there appears to have been a second Kashyapa who was the father of Avatsara, [[Narada Muni|Narada]] and [[Arundhati (Hinduism)|Arundhati]], the wife of [[Vasistha|Vasishtha]] and it was this second Kashyapa who was one of the [[Sapta Rishis|Saptarishi]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Chronology of Ancient India|author=Sita Nath Pradhan|publisher=Bhartiya Publishing House|page=90|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wEIhAAAAMAAJ&q=avatsara|year=1927}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Praci-jyoti|publisher=Kurukshetra University|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q785AQAAIAAJ&q=avatsara|year=1973}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World Vol.3|author=Ganga Ram Garg|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|page=839|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0U2QRpDv2KMC&q=avatsara&pg=PA839|isbn=9788170223764|year=1992}}</ref> According to the list of sages provided by the [[Matsya Purana]], Kashyapa had two sons – Avatsara and [[Rishi Asita|Asita]]; Nidhruva and Rebha were Avatsara’s son. But this list is doubted; the genealogy otherwise gives three groups among the Kashyaps, the Sandilyas, Naidhruvas and Raibhyas.<ref>{{cite book|title=Ancient Indian Historical Tradition|author=F.E.Pargiter|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|page=231|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2BRjkE385ScC&q=vatsara&pg=PA231|isbn=9788120814875|year=1997}}</ref> | |||
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From Book IV Chapter VIII of the [[Bhagavata Purana|Srimad Bhagvatam]] it is learnt though Maitreya that [[Dhruva]], the son of Uttanapada through Suruti, and the grandson of [[Manu (Hinduism)|Svyambhuva Manu]], had by his first wife Brahmi, two sons, Vatsara and Kalmavatsara or Kalpa.<ref>{{cite book|title=On the chronology of the Hindus Asiatic Researches Vol. 5|author=Francis Wilford|publisher=New Jersey College Library|page=253|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jPNYAAAAYAAJ&q=vatsara&pg=PA253|year=1799}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Concise Srimad Bhagvatam|author=Swami Venkatesananda|publisher=Suny Press|page=86,90|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zLkrkjn1Yv0C&q=vatsara&pg=PA90|isbn=9781438422831}}</ref> | |||
From Book IV Chapter VIII of the [[Bhagavata Purana|Srimad Bhagvatam]] it is learnt though | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Latest revision as of 02:35, 30 May 2025
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Avatsara (Script error: The function "langx" does not exist.) is a rishi (sage) featured in the Rigveda. His name first appears in Sukta 44 of the Fifth Mandala.[1][2]
Work[edit | edit source]
Avatsara is the primary author of Sukta 44 of the Fifth Mandala of the Rigveda, whose hymn addressed to the class of Rigvedic deities called the Visvedevas. He is known for the set of eight hymns of four mantras each that appear in the Rigveda viz. Suktas IX.53 to IX.60, and also in the Samaveda (SV.757, SV.1717).[3] He is stated to be the chief priest of the gods. He is described to offer Agni the six-syllable oblation – O Agni, enjoy the oblation, and was set-free.[4] According to Satyasadha (21.3.13), the Kashyapa pravara (lineage) consists of three rishi–ancestors: – Kashyapa, Avatsara, and Naidhruva.[5] The lineage also belongs to two of the Sandilya variations.[6] There are eight notable sages belonging to the Kashyapa family – Kashyapa, Avatsara, Nidhruva, Rebha, Devala, Asita, Bhutamsa, and Vivrha; two unnamed sons of Rebha were also authors of Rigvedic hymns.[7]
He is more known for the Suktas 53 to 60 of the Ninth Mandala; these Suktas contain four mantras each, all composed in the Gayatri Metre. In the Rigveda, he addresses Ishvara as, "the fully armed and endowed with many subtle and fine divine powers and destroyer of all evil forces" (RV.IX.53.1). He then addresses Ishvara as, "the purifier or the pure, brilliant as the Sun".[8]
His name appears in the Yajurveda, (Y.V.III.i & III.xviii) in which he prays to Agni,[9] and in the Aitareya Brahmana and the Kausitaki Brahmana. In the verses of the Aitareya Brahmana (A.B. ii.24) and Kausitaki Brahmana (K.B.viii.6), both pertaining to the Sacrifice of the Five Oblations, it is stated that Avatsara had reached the home of Agni and had conquered the highest world.[10]
In Rigveda Sukta IX.53, he states that educated people extract the wisdom of the ancients from the Vedas. Further, he states in Rigveda mantra IX.60.3 that the Lord resides as knowledge and consciousness in the hearts and minds of educated people.[11]
Genealogy[edit | edit source]
Avatsara is described to be the son of Kashyapa, who whose lifetime was later than Vamadeva (son of Maharishi Gautama), but earlier than Atri.[12] The word, Avata, denotes an artificially dug up water-source or an artificial well.[13][14]
Apart from Kashyapa, the son of Marichi, there appears to have been a second Kashyapa who was the father of Avatsara, Narada and Arundhati, the wife of Vasishtha and it was this second Kashyapa who was one of the Saptarishi.[15][16][17] According to the list of sages provided by the Matsya Purana, Kashyapa had two sons – Avatsara and Asita; Nidhruva and Rebha were Avatsara’s son. But this list is doubted; the genealogy otherwise gives three groups among the Kashyaps, the Sandilyas, Naidhruvas and Raibhyas.[18]
From Book IV Chapter VIII of the Srimad Bhagvatam it is learnt though Maitreya that Dhruva, the son of Uttanapada through Suruti, and the grandson of Svyambhuva Manu, had by his first wife Brahmi, two sons, Vatsara and Kalmavatsara or Kalpa.[19][20]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Shrikant G.Talageri. The Rig Veda: A Historical Analysis (PDF). Aditya Prakashan. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-01-16. Retrieved 2014-01-16.
- ↑ Jayantanuja Bandopadhayaya (2007). Class and Religion in Ancient India. Anthem Press. p. 13. ISBN 9781843313328.
- ↑ All Four Vedas. Agniveer. 2013-11-10. pp. 124–134, 326, 409–417, 734.
- ↑ Arthur Barriedale Keith (1998). Rig Veda Brahmanas:The Aitareya and Kausitaki Brahmanas of the Rig Veda. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 419. ISBN 9788120813595.
- ↑ Dhundiraja Ganesa (1962). Sarautakosah:Encyclopaedia of Vedic Sacrificial Rituals. p. 1016.
- ↑ The Early Brahmanical System of Gotra and Pravara. Cambridge University Press. 1953. p. 36. ISBN 9781001403793.
- ↑ Purushottam Lal Bhargava (January 2001). India in the Vedic Age. D.K.Print World. p. 221. ISBN 9788124601716.
- ↑ Ravinder Kumar Soni. The Illumination of Knowledge. GBD Books. pp. 246–247.
- ↑ Agniveer (2013-11-10). All Four Vedas. Agniveer. p. 46.
- ↑ Arthur Barriedale Keith (1998). Rig Veda Brahmanas:The Aitareya and Kausitaki Brahmanas of the Rig Veda. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 153. ISBN 9788120813595.
- ↑ Ravinder Kumar Soni. The Illumination of Knowledge. GBD Books. pp. 247–248.
- ↑ Islamkotob. Rig Veda A Historical Analysis. Islamic Books. p. 102.
- ↑ Arthur Anthony Macdonell. Vedic Index of Names and Subjects Vol.1. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 39–40.
- ↑ Macdonell, A.A.; Keith, A.B. (1995). Vedic Index of Names and Subjects. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 40. ISBN 9788120813328. Retrieved 2015-02-09.
- ↑ Sita Nath Pradhan (1927). Chronology of Ancient India. Bhartiya Publishing House. p. 90.
- ↑ Praci-jyoti. Kurukshetra University. 1973.
- ↑ Ganga Ram Garg (1992). Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World Vol.3. Concept Publishing Company. p. 839. ISBN 9788170223764.
- ↑ F.E.Pargiter (1997). Ancient Indian Historical Tradition. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 231. ISBN 9788120814875.
- ↑ Francis Wilford (1799). On the chronology of the Hindus Asiatic Researches Vol. 5. New Jersey College Library. p. 253.
- ↑ Swami Venkatesananda. The Concise Srimad Bhagvatam. Suny Press. p. 86,90. ISBN 9781438422831.